Unofficial Portkey Archive

I've updated!!!!

Yes, I know, you all hate me. But I did have a very valid reason for taking a long hiatus. I have just returned from mailing off my first manuscript to my first publisher.

Cross your fingers.

I took some time off because between fanfiction and Razia, Razia is more important, and I hope you all understand that. But now that the story has been sent off, I can finally take a break from it and finish this story.

"The little boy made for me in the stars
That's why I love you more the further I go
And before this existence you were always there
Waiting for me
You are, you are the realest thing I know."
-Childhood Dreams, Nelly Furtado

Those Who Have Thrice Defied Him
Chapter Four

"Right then, Harry James Potter. Height of twenty-five centimeters, weight of one pound, ten ounces. Born to James and Lily Potter, at 11:56 PM, on July the thirty-first...."

"What?!" James and Lily said at the same time, over the loud bawling of their baby.

Before James went off yelling at the Medi-witch, Lily grabbed his hand and brought him back to her, to calm him down. He didn't need to be causing a scene.

"Is there a problem?" she asked.

"Look, can you do us a favor, and say he was born on the first?" James asked, quietly.

"I can't do that, it's illegal-" the Mediwitch sniffed.

"Not on the legal stuff, but...on the announcement on the door and everything else," James said, looking to the door. "It's...well...it's quite important for everyone to think that he was born on the first..."

"Yes, it is," came the solemn voice of Albus Dumbledore. He closed the door behind him and looked at the Mediwitch pleasantly. "On his birth certificate, please, use the correct time and date, as it might be very handy in the future. But on all other documents, Harry James Potter was born on August first."

Too shocked to see Albus Dumbledore standing in her presence to argue, the Mediwitch nodded and changed the date on the announcement poster.

"May I have a few moments to speak with the new parents?" Dumbledore asked, smiling. Nodding, the Mediwitch left the room, looking quite dazed.

Once she left the room, Lily burst into tears again.

"Now, Lily," Dumbledore said, sitting in a seat next to the bed. "There is no need to cry."

"Albus," James said, holding her gently. "She hasn't slept in days..."

"He's so tiny," Lily sniffed, looking at her baby. "He's not even two pounds...and he wants to kill him!"

"Ssh," Dumbledore said, looking around. "It is imperative that you not speak of that." He sighed and looked very grave. "First and foremost, I must apologize. It was on my advice that you stayed in your flat-"

Lily gave a shuddery breath.

"I did not expect Lord Voldemort to be...I underestimated his inhumane nature," he ended quietly. "I did not think that he would attack simply because there was a shadow of a chance...But what's done is done, and now we have a problem on our hands."

"What should we do?" James asked, hollowly.

"I have made arrangements for you to go into hiding," Dumbledore whispered. "I cannot tell you where at this point in time, nor can I tell you anything else, but Frank and Alice have already gone into hiding at a different place, and will remain there until..."

"Until when?" Lily asked.

"Until Voldemort chooses which child he will mark as his equal," Dumbledore said, heavily. There was a knock on the door and the Healer came back in, holding a small purple potion and a dropper.

"Since your baby was born so prematurely, he'll need a few drops of potion to keep him on the healthy side."

Lily opened Harry's mouth and the Healer dropped three drops into Harry's mouth. The baby made a sputtering sound that caused both of his parents to melt into a puddle of goo and forget the impending doom that penetrated the room.

"Did you see that?" James asked, eyebrows raised in an expression of astonishment. "He coughed...."

"Harry coughed," Lily laughed, feeling tears again. She was rather tired of crying, but she was just so emotional.

"When can they take him home?" Dumbledore asked.

"We'll need to watch him for a few days to make sure the potion is doing its job, and from the looks of things, the parents need a once-over," he explained. "An encounter from You-Know- Who isn't something we take lightly here."

"As well you should," Dumbledore nodded.

"Do you want me to take him, Mr. Potter?" the Healer walked forwards. "You and your wife need to be examined-"

"No," James said, not really wanting to let his son out of his sight. "No, I'll watch over him."

Lily was half-asleep and too tired to make her own defense. Even more gently than James thought was possible, he lifted his tiny baby from his wife's arms, leaving her free to roll over and go to sleep.

He, too, was overcome with a powerful emotion as he looked down at his creation, his baby, his perfection. Somehow, he always knew that Harry would be on the shrimpy side, but he was still perfect in his father's eyes. So perfect that James wondered if he was really real, but he was real, all at the same time.

"Very well, you may call on the Mediwitches if you have any problems," the Healer said, leaving the room.

James half-nodded to him, and continued to stare at his baby with wonder and awe.

"You look dead on your feet," Dumbledore said, quietly, placing a hand on James' shoulder. "You need rest-"

"I don't want to leave him alone," James shook his head.

"I will watch over him tonight," Dumbledore assured him, offering to take the baby. Very reluctantly, James handed his baby over to Dumbledore. He looked even tinier in the old man's arms, and James had the urge to take him back.

"Right," James said, running his hands through his hair.

"Get some sleep," Dumbledore said, sweeping out of the room. "You'll need it for the months to come."

"Right, sleep...." Come to think of it, James was very tired. He yawned and turned around, eyeing a nice patch of bed next to Lily. He climbed in next to her, kicking off his shoes, and wrapped his arms around her. The door shut behind him.

"I love you, James," Lily said, having been half-awake the entire time. She reached for his arms and held them tighter to her. "I could never do this without you-"

"Ssh," James whispered into her ear. "You'll never have to. I'll always be here beside you."

And with that, the two of them fell into a well-deserved sleep.

"Mrs. Potter..." Lily was being shaken, and she could hear tiny cries.

"What is it?" Lily said, sitting up. James arm, which was holding her just under her chest, slid down slowly to rest in her lap when she sat up. He made a movement as if he, too, was wakening.

"Your baby-"

"What's wrong?" Lily gasped.

"No," the Mediwitch smiled, handing the baby to his mother. "He's hungry..." v"Oh..." Lily swallowed. "W-what am I supposed to do?"

"Just bare your breast, he should know what to do," she smiled at her. Lily looked down at her baby and stared at his chubby pink cheeks. The potion had already started to work, because Harry looked bigger than he did when she had first given birth to him.

"How big is he now?" Lily asked.

"He weighs about two and three-quarters pounds now," she said. "We'll let you take him home when he reaches six, which should be sometime within the next few days."

"So, I just, bare my breast and he'll know what to do?" Lily asked, nervously.

"That he will," she said, leaving Lily to her privacy.

Lily looked down at James who was still conked out and probably wouldn't wake up for a while. Nervously, she undid her ties of her gown. She held Harry up to one of her breasts and waited.

Watching in awe, her baby leaned up and started suckling.

The entire beauty of it was beyond words. The feelings that filled her, she had never felt before. Not when she made love to James, or even when she had married him. Those feelings, the warmth of love she felt those times, they were nothing compared to looking down at her black haired baby suckling at her breast.

"Oh wow..." James was awake. His hair was sticking up on one side, and his eyes were puffy, but his face mirrored hers in loving astonishment at their baby who was taking his first meal from his mother.

James shifted his weight and sat up, moving to cradle Lily in his arms

"So beautiful," he whispered. Harry's hand came up and grabbed at his mother's breast, and Lily and James cooed in adoration.

"He's very hungry," Lily whispered.

"Got a big appetite like his Daddy," James smiled, proudly.

"Oh, I do hope this isn't a sign of things to come," Lily giggled. "The two of you will eat me out of house and home."

"He's a growing boy, Lily," James said, kissing her gently, sweetly, lovingly, on the cheek. He closed his eyes and pressed his nose where he kissed her, smiling. "I'm so happy," he whispered.

He could feel her stiffen slightly.

"What is it?" he asked, opening his eyes.

"How can we do this James?" Lily said, opening her eyes to look at him. "How can we raise this baby when we have to keep him in hiding for the rest of his life? What kind of a life is that?"

"Hey," James said holding her close to him. "Hey now, what kind of talk is that?"

Harry was finished eating, and he turned his head over and was sleeping against his mother's bosom.

"Life isn't going to be any different, all right?" James assured her. "So we'll have to move, and we'll probably not be able to use that much magic, and we'll have to be very careful, but so what? That doesn't mean that we can't raise this baby with all the love and affection that he deserves."

Lily sniffed.

"Do you love this baby?" James asked, using her own words.

"I do," Lily nodded.

"You've always been the strong one," he told her, taking the baby from her while she sat back and watched him, tearfully. "You've always been the one to tell me that everything's going to be all right, there's nothing to worry about, and that I'm just overreacting. Now it's my turn to take care of you and Harry, all right?"

"I love you," she whispered, reaching up and stroking his face.

"Get some sleep," he smiled. "I'll watch over him for a while."

Getting up from the bed, he felt Lily's eyes on him until he left the room. He shut the door behind him and looked down at Harry who was sleeping soundly.

"So, mate," James said, rocking him slowly. "Your mummy is getting worried that we're not going to have a normal life. Well," he cooed, "that's not right, now is it? So you and me, we have to make sure that we do everything normal-like, all right? No funny business from you, Harry. You got me? Your mummy's a good woman, and she deserves the best from the both of us."

Harry just slept soundly.

"You know," James said, deciding to take a detour and sitting down on one of the waiting chairs that lined the hallway. "You and I need to start your Quidditch training soon. Now, I know you were born a few hours ago, but that doesn't mean that we can't start planning. The Healer says that you're going to be on the shrimpy side, now, mate, I'm not saying that's a bad thing. Remus is scrawny, and he's a pretty cool guy...

"Oh!" James said, smiling. "You need to meet your uncles! Uncle Padfoot, he's your godfather, and he said that he's going to spoil you rotten. If anything should happen to your mum or me, he'd take care of you, and you know, he loves you almost as much as we do. Then there's Uncle Moony, he's got a bit of a problem that I'll explain to you when you're a bit older, but you don't have to worry about it, 'cause he's a good man, and he loves you as well. He's got to be the kindest person alive, next to your mum, I mean. They're good mates, as well. And then there's Uncle Wormy...he's not around a lot, 'cause he's busy. But he'll take care of you too.

"Where was I?" James said, rocking Harry gently. "Oh yes, scrawniness. You know, your old man was a scrawny little thing too, though not as small as you are. But what he lacks in size, he makes up for in everything else, and it's the same for you as well. You'll be a great kid, I just know it. You've got a wonderful mum, you know that don't you? You've got to be the luckiest kid on the face of the planet. Oh, sure, she'll be rough on you a few times, and as a word of caution, there's this tone of voice she uses right before she blows up at you, learn it quickly by watching me, and remember it well."

Harry yawned and touched his balled fists to his cheeks.

"But back to Quidditch, it's an awesome game. The Potters have been playing it for centuries. You know, your ancestor was the one who designed the Golden Snitch. In fact, your grandmum and granddad still live in Godric's Hollow, that's where it was made."

He sighed and looked down the hall. He then looked back down at his baby.

"You know, mate, these next few years are going to be hard on all of us. I want you to know that your mum and I, we love you very, very much..." He trailed off, not really knowing what else to say as that pretty much summed it up.

"Well, I suppose I'd best get you back with the Mediwitch," he said, standing up. "Don't forget to mind your manners for her, and say please and thank you and all that. It's never to early to learn good manners, you know..."

He continued walking on, giving Harry pointers for the life to come.